Cloudflare Opens AI Agent Payment Gateway Beta

Cloudflare has put its Monetization Gateway into closed beta, allowing eligible U.S.-based sellers to charge AI agents for each request to websites, APIs, tools or datasets. The company says the system processes payments in USDC on the Base blockchain and has four customer implementations in production. The beta began September 30. Sellers set the prices and decide which requests require payment. When an agent requests a protected resource, it receives payment terms, authorizes payment and can access the resource after the transaction is verified. The system uses the x402 protocol and HTTP 402 Payment Required status code, enabling payment within the request flow rather than through a separate checkout page, according to Cloudflare. Payments are verified through Coinbase’s x402 facilitator and settle in USDC, a stablecoin, on Base. Cloudflare says the arrangement is designed for resources where each request represents a use, including API calls, tool access and data requests. Sellers can use fixed prices or set a maximum for variable-cost requests, with the service reporting actual consumption for settlement.